Religion: Convert To Social Activism

June 11, 1985|By George E. Curry, Chicago Tribune.

WASHINGTON — A small group of people, many of them elderly, went to the U.S. Supreme Court recently to plead their case against capital punishment.

Not far away, near the foot of Capitol Hill, another orderly, well-dressed group was kneeling, singing and praying in front of the White House, urging what they called a more compassionate view toward the poor from the Reagan administration.

At the nearby Soviet Embassy, another demonstration was underway, this one protesting Soviet occupation of Afghanistan.

Similar scenes were taking place in front of the State Department over U.S. policy in Central America, at the South African Embassy to protest apartheid and at the Department of Health and Human Services to lobby for alternatives to abortion. All of these demonstrations were planned to occur simultaneously.

Unlike typical peace demonstrations in the past, these protesters tended to be older and more politically conservative, and said their actions were an outgrowth of their religious commitment.

Whether it was a protest demonstration in Washington, priests getting arrested near the Texas border for allowing their churches to become sanctuaries for Central American refugees or local church leaders who operate food pantries or take in the homeless, religious leaders--on the Right, on the Left and in the center--are stepping up their social activism.

The increased activities have been spurred, in part, by growing disenchantment with cuts in social programs and by personal introspection by many religious leaders and their followers. Whatever the cause of the flurry of protests, the actions are likely to have a profound and lasting impact on the religious community and some of the nation`s most venerated institutions. ``There is an awakening of Christian commitment in many people and more of an awareness that the church has to speak out and be a living witness in this world,`` said Henri Nouwen, a Roman Catholic priest who teaches at the Harvard Divinity School.

``I follow what the church teaches me, and one of the things the church teaches me is that religion, the commitment to Christ, is larger than any national commitment; that I have to work for justice, peace in the world; that I have to fight whenever I see evil, injustice, war and conflict.``

Nouwen said he is acting on a personal belief designed to fulfill his religious obligations rather than to have an impact on social policy. If the latter happens, however, he said it would not disappoint him.

``It is important that people are strengthened in their faith and in commitment to Christ and their commitment to social justice and peace and that they deepen that commitment, whether they have an impact or not,`` he said.

Most tend to be largely unknown, like Louise Winfield, chairman of the board of social action at Rock Spring Congregational Church, Arlington, Va.

One member of her committee started a small project three years ago called Sew to Speak. The idea was to get people to express things they would miss most in the event of a nuclear war by sewing them on fabric. Word of the project has spread, along with contributions to the effort. Most have been received by the Center for New Creation in Arlington, which estimates it has received more than 10 miles of ribbon.

A spokesman for the center said that each item, which is 36 inches by 18 inches, will be strung together in ceremonies on Aug. 4, in observance of the 40th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, and will be wrapped around the Pentagon in Virginia and stretched to the White House.

Contributions have been received from every state and many countries around the world, the spokesman said.

Winfield, members of her committee and people like them gradually are becoming the backbone of the current revival of church activism. Because most of the emerging group appears to defy all-too-neat political labels, it is difficult to dismiss them as being doctrinaire or kooks.

``We aren`t leftist; we aren`t even liberals, by and large,`` said Jim Wallis, organizer of the demonstrations and editor of Sojourners, a religious magazine published in Washington. ``We are people who are very committed, with solid personal and family values.``

He continued: ``All life is sacred for us. We want to defend life whenever and wherever it is threatened, from the beginning of the life cycle to the end, whether it be women or the unborn, or those oppressed in Central America or workers and children in South Africa, or people of Afghanistan, suffering under Soviet invasion or whether it be on death row or whether it be all of us under the shadows of nuclear war.``

On the surface, one might conclude that Wallis and the Rev. Jerry Falwell, president of the Moral Majority, might have a lot in common: Both are firmly against abortion, and both are evangelicals, traditionally one the most conservative wings of the religious community.